ESPN: Way-too-early 2017 NFL mock draft has Gophers Mitch Leidner going in 1st round!

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CurveballJesus said:
At the risk of slightly highjacking the thread, Kiper also lists Lingen as is #3 Underclassman tight end. (same link as Bleed's)

Tight ends

Seniors

1. Jake Butt, Michigan
2. O.J. Howard, Alabama
3. Jeremy Sprinkle, Arkansas
4. Jordan Leggett, Clemson
5. Evan Engram, Mississippi

Underclassmen

1. Bucky Hodges, Virginia Tech
2. DeAndre Goolsby, Florida
3. Brandon Lingen, Minnesota
4. Troy Fumagalli, Wisconsin
5. Jeb Blazevich, Georgia
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Not to contribute to the hijack, but Lingen really stepped up after Kill stepped down. When the offense opened up and Lingen was seen more than ten yards down the field from the line of scrimmage, he really showed his stuff. Great blocker.

As an aside, I remember when he committed that there was a ton of head-scratching on the board in the "who is this guy and why did we offer him?" vein. Shows how important the camps can be.
 

50PoundHead said:
I think more than Leidner being in the top five or ahead of Beatherd, the presence of Cooper Rush in the top five is where the list falls apart.
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How many Central Michigan games have you seen?

I would take him over Leidner in a heartbeat.
 






MNBadgerGuy said:
As a badger fan I try not to come on gopherhole and stir the pot, as I'm genuinely interested in following gopher football and the big ten in general. I really am curious as to how Leidner can be considered by at least a few "draft scouts" to be a top 5 QB and first round possibility. I don't scour the NCAA for the best players at their position but I've watched Leidner the last three years and nothing screamed possible first rounder to me. Is the overall QB class that down? If I recall correctly Kerry Collins in 1995 is the last Big Ten QB to be taken in the first round. Is Mitch Leidner the best NFL prospect of the last 20 years to come through the Big Ten? There's been a lot of good QBs in the league since then and I have a hard time thinking Mitch will be the one to break that streak. I guess we will see next April.
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I think it's a bit crazy myself but I guess because there aren't many 6'4" returning 3-year starters in a power 5 conference. I personally would guess 4th round.

He's been good and bad, but the Wisconsin games have probably been his worst. Would be nice to see what he can do when healthy for a year and not running for his life behind a battered OL.
 


http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2016/in...every-offensive-position-senior-underclassmen
Watson and Kaaya are the top two names in this class, but don't bet against Webb and Leidner as first-round possibilities. Webb in particular has an NFL skill set and is a player NFL teams will watch closely. He could thrive in the draft process. (He also isn't officially committed for 2016 but should be this week.)
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Kiper has Mitch as a possible first rounder and the 2nd best senior in the class.
 




He has to have a good senior season and if he does he will get serious consideration in the draft. If he does not have a good senior campaign he likely won't be drafted or it will be in a low round.
 

GoUgophers said:
I'm sure you would.

Maybe he can lead the Mighty Gophers to a .500 record this year and another 9th tier bowl game.
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I mean - you're obviously trolling, but if you stuck ndsu in the Big10 your scenario would have been a huge success for them in 2015 and Wentz still went in the 1st round. This is not me saying Mitch will be a 1st rounder (he won't be) but a .500 record in a real conference does not mean a QB is not 1st round material. Scouts earn their money in the time between the season ends and the draft begins - regardless of how a player performs amid their personal collegiate situation. This is especially true of QBs where system and supporting cast can be so variable. Mitch has definite flaws, but if you stuck him on Alabama he would do nothing to hurt their chances at a title and would be a household name with some fake, southern hottie at his side.

The good thing is this will all get sorted out on its own - Mitch will get a shot in the NFL assuming he stays healthy (probably drafted between round 4-6 is my official prediction) and we will see how he does.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
This is the insanity of the NFl. Beathard IMO is a better QB but gives up a little height. He was the reason for The Season.
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I am no Mel Kiper, but i think Leidner's arm strength is better and Mitch has better size. Beathard is certainly quicker.
 



WorkingMyTailOff said:
I am no Mel Kiper, but i think Leidner's arm strength is better and Mitch has better size. Beathard is certainly quicker.
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Fair enough. I'm only giving my armchair assessment and it pains me to praise an Iowa player. There is a lot more to playing QB than arm strength. Accuracy, pocket feel, ability to process quickly and make the right reads. Smart QBs have a built-in advantage.

However, coaches will famously take size and speed over production (see Green, Seth) as they feel they can correct technique and create better instincts with experience. I think in some cases that's true. Sometimes players are just limited physically, mentally, or motivationally.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Fair enough. I'm only giving my armchair assessment and it pains me to praise an Iowa player. There is a lot more to playing QB than arm strength. Accuracy, pocket feel, ability to process quickly and make the right reads. Smart QBs have a built-in advantage.

However, coaches will famously take size and speed over production (see Green, Seth) as they feel they can correct technique and create better instincts with experience. I think in some cases that's true. Sometimes players are just limited physically, mentally, or motivationally.
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It pains me to admit this too, but Beathard is a nice qb who had good Oline play last year. Let's hope the Gophers Oline is solid this year so we can see Mitch have a great year.
 

I'm not dissing on Mitch, I've been in his corner since the beginning, but I'd also like to stay as objective as possible. He's made some major progress. He's primed to have a monster year if he's mobile. If the line stays healthy or we have a few legit backups should a starter go down it should be a special season.
 


Question for wait!what? - do you completely think Kiper is full of poop or is there only 1 D1 worthy starter in college football? It's a facetious question but my point is, at what point do you admit you were wrong about Leidner being a D1 caliber QB?
 

If you're happy with Leidner at QB good for you. If my being unhappy with 3 yrs of ol number 7 at QB for a BCS school makes you unhappy well thats on you.
 

For the 473rd time:

Mitch Leidner is not the best QB in college FB
He is not the worst QB in college FB.

He does some things well.
He has other things he doesn't do as well.

But - barring injury, he is the Gopher QB- he will be the Gopher QB this year, and the better he plays, the better season the Gophers will have.

I want the Gophers to have a good season, so I want Leidner to have a good season.

And, I suspect that by the fall of 2017, some people on this board may learn a new appreciation for Leidner when he's not around anymore to serve as a fall guy.
 

GopherHomer said:
Question for wait!what? - do you completely think Kiper is full of poop or is there only 1 D1 worthy starter in college football? It's a facetious question but my point is, at what point do you admit you were wrong about Leidner being a D1 caliber QB?
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I guarantee Kiper has watched zero film of Leidner.
 


theTurning said:
I guarantee Kiper has watched zero film of Leidner.
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Given that Kiper's job is to evaluate prospects, a task which requires him to watch countless hours of player and game film (undoubtedly including players and teams from the B10), I would be very surprised if Kiper has watched zero film of Leidner. At the very least, he has probably seen tape just by scouting Gopher opponents over the last 3 years. Like him or not, Kiper has been doing this job for 30 years and didn't get to where he is at by pulling names out of his a$$ without doing any sort of research. He makes a living off of evaluating players and its laughable to "guarantee" that he has seen absolutely zero film of a qb that he has pegged as the second best senior in the country.

I think its safe to say that there is some sort of buzz growing about Leidner behind the scenes. NFL scouts receive game tape and attend games all over the country, so scouts are well aware of who Leidner is and its likely that that is where the Leidner draft rumblings originated. How else do the fervent haters explain such a terrible D2 quarterback suddenly getting draft love?
 

theTurning said:
I guarantee Kiper has watched zero film of Leidner.
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Now that's quite a claim. You'd be hard-pressed to find any normal college football fan around the country who has not seen a single Minnesota offensive highlight over the past 2+ years, much less someone who evaluates college football for a living.

Care to amend or retract your statement?
 




short ornery norwegian said:
For the 473rd time:

Mitch Leidner is not the best QB in college FB
He is not the worst QB in college FB.

He does some things well.
He has other things he doesn't do as well.

But - barring injury, he is the Gopher QB- he will be the Gopher QB this year, and the better he plays, the better season the Gophers will have.

I want the Gophers to have a good season, so I want Leidner to have a good season.

And, I suspect that by the fall of 2017, some people on this board may learn a new appreciation for Leidner when he's not around anymore to serve as a fall guy.
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Funny, I only counted 472...:p

Seriously, I agree. I'll add that it's his Moxie/ leadership skills that makes him a very good fit for this team. Win or lose, this is the horse we're riding.
 

theTurning said:
Nope.
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w9bmg4W.gif
 

theTurning said:
I guarantee Kiper has watched zero film of Leidner.
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So when he watched film of David Cobb and Maxx Williams, he didn't see a single play from Leidner? Or do you think he watched zero film on those two players as well?
 

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